News

On 11 October 2013, the press conference organised by the Okvir Association and the APC member Foundation OneWorld Platform for Southeast Europe to mark the International Coming Out Day was forcefully interrupted by a group of young men. However, the fight for freedom, security, visibility and right of LGBTIQA persons is permanent and we all have responsibility to take that fight and report, process and sanction hate-crimes.

The launch of the 2013 edition of GISWatch will take place on October 23 at the eight IGF in Bali. This year’s edition explores how the internet and ICTs have extended the public sphere, thereby creating new opportunities and freedoms for women as well as the threats to their freedoms.

The theme for this year’s IGF is “Building Bridges – Enhancing Multi-stakeholder Cooperation for Growth and Sustainable Development.” The GenderIT.org team will be working on- and off-site to bring everything related to gender and ICT policy from the gender peripheries at the IGF. And we invite you to be a part of it!

We see from the headlines that the security of digital networks and information is becoming increasingly important. To shed light on the practical steps that members of civil society can take to protect themselves and their activism, APC and Tactical Tech are hosting a peer-learning session called a “Disco-tech” on the night before the global IGF in Bali, 21 October 2013.

APC members and staff will be participating at this year’s Internet Governance Forum in Bali, Indonesia, from 22-25 October 2013. In this page we’ve complied some key resources, as well as information on the events that we’ll be hosting and co-organising.

This document presents an overview of the main themes around which the IGF is structured from a civil society perspective. It is a great introduction for people who are new to the IGF process, as well as a useful compass for those already familiar with it.

The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD IC) expresses its deep concern at the recent hacking of the website of the Latin America and Caribbean Womens Health Networks (LACWHN). The attack is emblematic of the serious threat that online harassment presents to sexual and reproductive rights activists and constitutes a violation of LACWHN‘s right to freedom of expression and association.

Sudan experienced a massive internet outage on 25 September 2013 in addition to a violent crackdown on protests over fuel subsidy cuts by the Sudanese government. Evidence suggests that the connectivity blackout was not a catastrophic technical failure, but rather an intentional act to disconnect citizens of Sudan from the rest of the world and from each other.

In August, the Sixth Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Internet Governance Forum took place in Argentina and showed that women are making headway in the Latin American forum. The involvement of young women in internet governance discussions about privacy and security and freedom of expression, gender analysis remains absent.

During General Debate on the promotion and protection of all human rights, Pakistan, speaking on behalf of 10 other countries, expressed concerns regarding use and abuse of advanced surveillance technologies in serious violation of the right to privacy and international law. Bytes for All, Pakistan and APC commend those countries for their statement. At the same time, we are concerned about proposals to develop a new intergovernmental mechanism of internet governance.

On 20-21 September, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) held a regional dialogue and workshop on “Freedom of expression in cyberspace” in Johannesburg. The event explored how to empower human rights defenders in Southern Africa using the internet. Discussion brought to light issues of intermediary liability, surveillance, human rights, and internet governance.

Civil society organisations today called upon the members of the Human Rights Council (HRC) to assess whether national surveillance laws and activities are in line with their international human rights obligations.

The International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) is a network of 400 women working in television, film, radio and web-based journalism across 56 countries to overcome barriers by challenging gender-based stereotyping in the media. IAWRT Kenya chapter is partnering in “End violence: Women’s rights and safety online” along with Kenya-based partner KICTAnet. APCNews interviews Racheal Nakitare, IAWRT Kenya Chair.

The Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) and the Public Interest Registry call for nominations for the 2013 eNGO Challenge. The Challenge seeks to recognise, salute and honour best NGO practices using ICTs worldwide. The deadline has been extended to 25 September 2013.

The Philippine Internet Freedom Alliance (PIFA), integrated by APC member Foundation for Media Alternatives, released a statement in commemoration of the 1st year of the passage of the repressive Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 in the Philippines into law. PIFA is developing a week-long online campaign to make sure that netizens will not forget that even though the law was temporarily halted, vigilance should remain to ensure that the law is completely junked.

Against the backdrop of the recent Snowden revelations, APC and other civil society organisations are participating the 24th session of the HRC, which is taking place from 9-27 September 2013 in Geneva.

The event, co-organised by APC, will take place on Friday in Geneva. Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Frank La Rue, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, will provide some introductory remarks.

APC is looking for a new project coordinator for its ground-breaking Take Back the Tech! Campaign. The position is a six-month, part-time contract to organise “16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence” from 25 November to 10 December, to raise awareness about tech-related violence against women, feminist practice and politics of technology, and secure online communications for women and girls.